Although I saved my life through time-reversal magic, I lost most of the magical power I had.

So the first thing I did when I opened my eyes again was to draw magic circles on the entire second floor of Cedar’s mansion, which is my private living space.

For both magicians and Aura Sword users to reach a great level, one condition is necessary.

That is to have abundant magical power to handle. No talent can overcome innate magical capacity.

In the past, I was the magician with the most magical power in this world, but…

‘My magical power is ruined. It’s not nearly enough to fill up like this.’

Now I was no different from a beggar.

I worked hard to create channels to fill the empty vessel, and did my best to scrape together even the smallest amount of magical power, but the result was the same.

Even after several weeks, the magical power I had gathered wasn’t even enough to cover the floor.

Disheartened, I kept letting out heavy sighs.

‘I might be able to use magic… but wide-area spells like before are impossible.’

After gathering magical power for such a long time, the most I could use was a gentle breeze to dry my hair.

It was incomparable to the past when I received recruitment offers saying I could blow away mountains before me with just a gesture, and become a new wind in the empire’s civil engineering.

My deflated body kept sagging like a slime, but I shook my head and straightened up again.

‘If I continue gathering magical power smoothly like this, by next week I should be able to use defensive magic once or twice in really dangerous situations.’

There’s no need to think only negative thoughts. The situation has already happened, and all I can do is look straight ahead without looking back.

‘There’s no time to be depressed. I need to find another way quickly. I can’t keep relying on Cedar’s house forever.’

Cedar said he married me just because he needed a wife.

That means if that need disappears, there’s no reason to maintain our marriage.

I don’t want to act naive when Cedar asks for a divorce, thinking everything is fine right now.

I clenched my fists tightly. For now, what’s important to me is independence!

‘Fortunately, the magical knowledge is in my head, so I’ll be able to manage somehow.’

Although I can’t use magic because I have no magical power, the great magical knowledge remains intact in my head.

‘Still, it would be nice if I could use even a little magic.’

Of course, I know ways to make magic usable.

One is to use the magic circles I’ve drawn to gather natural magical power, and the other is to use magic stones that store magical power.

Magical power is the energy that circulates the natural world.

Sometimes, objects that condense magical power appear during intense changes in the natural environment, and magic stones are the prime example of such objects.

‘To think that magic stones would become my lifeline now. Life really is full of unexpected turns. Things happen that you could never imagine.’

I actually wasn’t very interested in magic stones before.

They were incredibly expensive due to how difficult they were to find, and I always had an abundance of magical power, so I never thought I’d need them.

‘With that, I could gain much more magical power at once than by drawing magic circles. But magic stones are too expensive.’

In the end, to keep using magic in the future, I need to earn money.

‘The problem is how to earn money. I’ve never earned money before.’

All I’ve done in my life until now is research magic.

‘Rather than learning new skills now, it would be best to make money using what I’ve always done.’

Magic and money.

Magic and money.

How on earth can I make money with magic.

After agonizing for a while, a brilliant idea flashed in my mind.

‘How about making and selling magic potions?’

In this world, there are magic potions that can produce effects similar to magic.

Of course, those also need to be made by magicians, but most magicians focus on researching magic to increase their own value, so there are very few cases of making magic potions.

But I can’t use magic now, right? There’s no point in researching and increasing the variety of magic I can’t even use.

Why not use that knowledge to make magic potions instead?

The more I thought about it, the better it seemed. I got up from my seat and stepped on the stairs I never go down except for meals.

‘I need to check the garden since I have to plant and grow ingredients.’

To make magic potions, various herb ingredients are needed.

Fortunately, this mansion has a small garden, so I could ask permission to grow them there.

‘These shoes are comfortable. The clothes are easy to change into too.’

As I went down the stairs, my skirt rustled around my knees. It was the new clothes Cedar had ordered for me.

Apparently shocked by the fact that I couldn’t even put on the clothes in this mansion by myself, Cedar bought me several dresses that I could easily wear just by buttoning up.

The one I put on today had a light sky blue color with a white apron attached, in a cheerful design.

Knowing me so well, this apron didn’t even need to be tied with a ribbon; it was sewn onto the dress.

‘Cedar is really thoughtful and considerate. He takes good care of my convenience too.’

Diana, who forced me to marry Cedar, didn’t send any of my belongings here. That’s how little she cared about me.

‘To think I didn’t know Diana was that kind of child until I was on the verge of death, I’m pathetic too.’

Still, it’s fortunate that I could use time-reversal magic. It’s also fortunate that I learned Diana’s true nature before dying.

I comforted myself as I went down the stairs.

Then I struggled to open the front door, and unexpectedly, there were people standing in the sunlight outside the door.

Hair darker than darkness itself seemed to absorb all the sunlight.

A slightly tanned face, smooth-looking cheeks, and narrowly slit eyes.

The body made of huge muscles like a black tiger seemed slightly distorted in perspective due to the intense flow of magical power around it.

It was none other than Cedar.

Sometimes when I face Cedar, I feel like I’m meeting a completely different being, and my body freezes like ice.

Even though he doesn’t threaten me or anything.

‘Is it because he’s a descendant of dragons?’

Just as our ancestor is truly the great magician Periway, the legend that the Granite family’s ancestor was a dragon who transformed into human form might not be an absurd truth.

The one who broke the strange silence between us was none other than Cedar’s right-hand man, Hail.

He greeted me first with a bright, cheerful smile.

“Hello, madam.”

“Hello.”

Unlike Cedar, who eats three meals a day at home, Hail sometimes follows Cedar and sometimes doesn’t, so I see his face relatively infrequently.

But his expression was grinning more than ever among those infrequent times.

‘Somehow, it’s an unpleasant smile.’

I know Hail is a good person.

But that beaming smile somehow instinctively repulsed me. He rubbed his palms together and said to me.

“You came out to greet us! As expected of newlyweds, hehe.”

“…?”

Greeting? Newlyweds?

As I blinked in confusion, instead of explaining further, Hail turned back the way he came.

“Then I shall take my leave. You two have a cozy time together.”

His continued smiling face while backing away was peculiar. I tilted my head.

‘What on earth is he talking about?’

A cozy time? Were we in that kind of relationship?

‘But Cedar’s expression is strange too.’

The corners of Cedar’s mouth were also wriggling like a worm crawling.

When I turned to look at him with wide eyes, Cedar covered his mouth with his palm as if trying to hide it.

“Ahem, ahem.”

After clearing his throat a few times, he returned to being the usual stoic Cedar Granite. He folded his arms and asked me in a solemn tone.

“Did thou come out to greet me?”

“I came out to look at the garden.”

Was I supposed to come out to greet them? But how could I know in advance when the two of them would arrive and come out early?

As I kept tilting my head in confusion, Cedar’s face suddenly crumpled.

He rubbed his face and muttered in a somewhat fierce voice.

“Of course. What nonsense was that Hail fellow spouting so long?”

It seems it wasn’t that I didn’t understand, but that it was nonsense. Since we’d already met, I asked Cedar about his recent affairs.

“Is thy morning training finished? Nothing unusual happened?”

“What unusual thing could happen?”

Cedar shrugged his shoulders. Then he naturally changed the subject.

“Didst thou drink all the juice I made for thee?”

“Ah.”

That was a very disadvantageous topic for me.

‘Come to think of it, I think he did say he was leaving juice for me.’

The problem was that I had answered halfheartedly while eating breakfast because my eyes wouldn’t open well in the morning.

At my response, Cedar’s thick eyebrows curved greatly.

“Aah?”

Unable to answer that I hadn’t really listened to him then, I hung my head low while fidgeting with my fingers.

“…I, I was planning to drink it after visiting the garden.”

“It seems thou wert not taught as a child that lying is wrong?”

“It, it’s not a lie? Re-really.”

“Thou art terribly bad at lying. Thou shouldst know that.”

From the ethical rebuttal of what’s good about being good at lying, to how one can objectively evaluate being good or bad at expressing emotions, I honestly had many rebuttals, but I kept my mouth shut.

This is a disadvantageous topic. The more I speak, the more disadvantageous it becomes.

Then how should I escape from this disadvantageous situation?

The method I chose was avoidance.

“I’ll quickly check the garden and come back in. Please go to the dining room first.”